Obstructive Uropathy and Sepsis Caused by an Inguinoscrotal Bladder Hernia: A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: Inguinoscrotal bladder hernia is a very rare pathology, occurring in up to 4% of all inguinal hernias in the general population. We present a case of an inguinoscrotal bladder hernia causing obstructive uropathy and sepsis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 59-year-old obese man presented with left-sided flank and abdominal pain that radiated to his left groin. On initial clinical examination, there was no evidence of an inguinal hernia. A computed tomography scan revealed a left inguinoscrotal bladder hernia with associated left-sided upper tract urinary obstruction. Two days later, his clinical course deteriorated and he developed sepsis of urinary origin. The patient underwent multiple procedures, including left ureteral stent placement, left percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement, and left inguinal herniorrhaphy. As of this writing, he remains with a left nephrostomy tube in place because of persistence of left hydroureteronephrosis, but he is doing well clinically. DISCUSSION: We highlight the fact that in cases where there is upper urinary tract obstruction and sepsis, it is prudent to first stabilize the patient via decompression of the upper urinary tract and antibiotics before herniorrhaphy. This report illustrates a unique case of this interesting pathology, as well as the multiple complications and pitfalls that may arise from it.

Does the Level of Assistant Experience Impact Operative Outcomes for Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy?

PURPOSE: A skilled assistant surgeon is presumed necessary during robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) to minimize warm ischemia time (WIT) and to facilitate complex renorrhaphy. Studies observing impact of resident participation have focused on robotic prostatectomies, showing no impact on core surgical outcomes. Herein, we evaluated the level of experience of the bedside assistant and its impact on perioperative outcomes in RAPN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All RAPN cases in our healthcare system from January 2011 to December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. The cases were divided into teaching and nonteaching hospitals. There were 18 fellowship-trained attending surgeons. At teaching hospitals, surgeries were performed by an attending physician and postgraduate year (PGY)-2 or PGY-3 resident at bedside; at nonteaching hospitals, surgeries were performed by two attending surgeons. We compared age, gender, body mass index, Charlson comorbidity index, operative difficulty by R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score, and operative outcomes (WIT, estimated blood loss, operative time (OT), positive margin rate, length of stay (LOS), postoperative glomerular filtration rate, and readmission rate). RESULTS: Of the 170 patients captured, 162 had R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score and WIT: 112 from teaching hospitals and 50 from nonteaching hospitals. Patient characteristics were equivalent between both cohorts with the exception of the R.E.N.A.L. score, which was higher (6.3 vs 5.7, p = 0.046) in the teaching hospitals cohort. Regarding operative outcomes, we noted an overall increase in LOS by 1 day (p = 0.001) and OT by 16 minutes (p = 0.011) in the teaching hospitals. CONCLUSION: We observed that increased LOS was the only clinically relevant measure negatively impacted by resident physician involvement during RAPN.